Chapter 46: Two Hundred Years Of Maladministration
As the fishing boat gradually headed north, the Santa Ana shrank into a black dot, disappearing between sea and sky.
Zheng Zhilong had been full of energy since boarding the ship, constantly introducing the local customs of Guangzhou.
Bai Langzai was a Tanka person and rarely went ashore to wander, so his knowledge of Guangzhou was minimal; many things Zheng Zhilong mentioned, he truly didn’t know.
Zheng Zhilong was skilled at socializing and intentionally curried favor, so soon he was chatting freely with Bai Langzai.
Lin Qian closed his eyes to rest his mind, constantly reviewing his plans in his head, checking for any oversights.
As the saying goes: “The hardest tasks in the world must be done starting from the easy; the greatest matters in the world must be done starting from the fine details.”
Since transmigrating here, though he often took adventurous actions, every one of these plans had been repeatedly deliberated and considered, ensuring foolproof execution before acting.
For example, this personnel arrangement.
He brought Bai Langzai to the Great Ming: first, to rely on Bai Langzai’s skills for protection; second, to use Bai Langzai’s identity to recruit Tanka people.
As for currying favor or keeping promises, those could be done along the way.
Leaving Chen Jiao and Lei Sanxiang on the ship.
First, because the two had high prestige and could keep the crew members in check.
Second, Lei Sanxiang valued brotherhood more; if Chen Jiao had disloyal intentions, someone could restrain him.
Having Zhou Xiucai go to Macau with Jose was to have Zhou Xiucai keep an eye on Jose; after all, this glib Spaniard had just joined not long ago, and Lin Qian didn’t trust him much.
Lin Qian not telling Jose about the Hongmen Banquet was for the same reason.
Those in high positions need not know everything, but must know how to employ people.
These arrangements of his might seem casual to his brothers under him, but all were carefully planned by Lin Qian after repeated thought.
Even when assigning positions on the ship, appointing Chen Jiao as first mate and Lei Sanxiang as boatswain, Lin Qian already intended for the two to divide power and check each other.
Therefore, when discovering that Lei Sanxiang was not respected by the ship workers, he thought of the method of administering punishment and applying medicine to help him.
He hid these intentions very well; most of the brothers were rough-minded and likely didn’t notice.
But even if noticed, it was no harm.
The common saying goes: “Employ people without suspicion; if suspicious, do not employ.”
These words are said for others to hear, not to be put into practice.
Acting according to this saying would sooner or later lead to becoming a floating corpse at sea.
While pondering, suddenly Zheng Zhilong said: “Look, that’s Lingdingyang.”
Lin Qian opened his eyes and looked toward the bow following Zheng Zhilong’s finger, only to see between sea and sky two pieces of land faintly visible, with a wide expanse of water in between, large and small ships sailing upon it.
Bai Langzai remarked with feeling: “If Second Brother were here, he would surely recite Prime Minister Wen’s poem.”
Lin Qian: “You know Prime Minister Wen?”
Bai Langzai nodded: “I’ve heard the elders talk about it.”
The ship followed Lingdingyang northward, passing straight through Tiger Head Gate, where the water surface grew narrower, and ahead gradually appeared a wide great river flowing—this was the Pearl River.
On the Pearl River, many ships traveled along the river, with fishing boats fishing and merchant ships hawking wares, presenting quite a busy scene.
Sailing into the river midst, the fishermen went to the stern and began sculling.
The Pearl River’s flow was gentle; even going upstream against the current, no one needed to haul the towline.
Moreover, the southeast wind was blowing now, the sails could provide assistance, and with sculling propulsion added, the speed was not much slower than at sea.
Lin Qian surveyed both shores and saw lush green woods, distant mountains deep blue-green, a stunning vista like a Chinese ink painting.
After nearly two hours more, they had reached the suburbs of Guangzhou City; many houses appeared on both shores, surrounding woods greatly reduced, exposing red land, with some barren hills faintly visible in the distance.
Lin Qian asked: “Bai Langzai, is Poshan Wharf around here?”
Bai Langzai nodded and looked outside the ship; just then a small boat passed by the side, with several cormorants aboard, and a man wearing a bamboo hat sculling on the small boat.
Bai Langzai shouted: “Uncle, have all the boats at Poshan Wharf Tanka Bay returned yet?”
The man wearing the bamboo hat replied: “Not that fast yet; it’ll take another day or two for them all to return.”
Bai Langzai thanked him and sat back in the cabin.
Zheng Zhilong perceptively translated for Lin Qian: “Elder Brother Lin, just now White Brother asked that person whether the boats at Poshan Wharf Tanka Bay had returned, and that person said ‘Not so fast, still need to wait one or two days.'”
Bai Langzai sat back in the cabin, sighed, and said: “Helmsman, my family’s boat should still be on the way back.”
Lin Qian felt a bit puzzled and was about to ask further.
Zheng Zhilong read the room and preemptively explained: “White Brother must be a pearl household from Poshan Wharf. Elder Brother Lin, from your accent you’re from the Jiangzhe area, perhaps not very familiar with Guangdong pearl households—may I explain a bit?”
Lin Qian smiled and nodded.
Zheng Zhilong: “Our dynasty’s Taizu established the Yellow Register, delineating household registrations for the populace, including the pearl household category. Since most pearl ponds for southern pearls are in the Lianzhou and Leizhou areas, pearl households were initially all there…”
As Zheng Zhilong spoke, he glanced at Bai Langzai and saw his expression unchanged, then continued: “Over the past two hundred plus years, that earliest batch of pearl households died off, fled, or died without heirs, becoming ever scarcer. Yet the Imperial Court’s pearl demands increased rather than decreased, forcing local officials to add new pearl households…”
Bai Langzai was already not very talkative and even less willing to mention pearl household matters; this origin of pearl households was the first time Lin Qian had learned of it.
By this point in the story, Lin Qian could guess the latter part.
Nothing more than local officials using every means to force commoners into pearl household status, but unable to squeeze Lianzhou and Leizhou dry, so Guangzhou Prefecture, with its large population and near the sea, naturally contributed many poor folk as pearl households.
This was probably the origin of Guangzhou City pearl households.
Moreover, the Great Ming Yellow Register strictly forbade household registration transfers, watching especially strictly over hereditary service households like pearl households.
This led to the absurd situation of households registered in Guangzhou having to go to Lianzhou and Leizhou for corvée labor.
Fortunately, pearl commoners used ships as home; otherwise, such back-and-forth dashing about would kill people just from the journey.
What Zheng Zhilong said afterward matched Lin Qian’s guesses almost exactly.
After finishing, Bai Langzai added: “My family dives for pearls in the pearl ponds of Leizhou Prefecture, returning once every three months.”
Seeing Bai Langzai hadn’t hit the key point, Zheng Zhilong couldn’t help adding: “Guangzhou Prefecture checks the pearl household registers every three months, incidentally collecting taxes; if there are escapees, the whole group faces collective punishment. This forces pearl households to make the round trip every three months; otherwise, pearl households use ships as home and could just stay near the pearl farm.”
Bai Langzai nodded in agreement.
Pearl commoners already lived in hardship, yet had to report every three months, back and forth wearing themselves out.
So when officials’ own interests were involved, they bent the law and opened convenient doors; when the people’s interests were involved, they were ruthlessly impartial without the slightest flexibility.
No wonder the Great Ming had only twenty-four years of national fortune left; from this policy upheld for two hundred years, signs of the dynasty’s fall could be seen.
While pondering, the sculling fishermen said: “Arrived.”
Lin Qian looked up and around, seeing the fishing boat already docked at a dock.
Lin Qian got off first, stepping onto the wharf; Bai Langzai gave the fishermen two taels of broken silver—the fare had been paid at departure, this was extra gratuity.
The fishermen thanked him profusely.
Zheng Zhilong then said coldly with a warning: “There are some things you can’t talk about—do you understand?”
This was warning the fisherman not to speak recklessly.
The fisherman smiled apologetically and nodded.
Then Zheng Zhilong and Bai Langzai came ashore.
Lin Qian paid no attention to their conversation, merely quietly gazing at the city district before him.
Was this the Guangzhou Prefecture of the Great Ming?
